Hollowed Bodies
by Ruetheday
Summary: Year after year the Hunger Games brings home a single victor. They are envied for their survival, but really, it's like they never won. The real victor is back in the arena, replaying deaths, betrayal, helplessness... Their District is fooled by the hollowed body.


…

_I dance around this empty house_

_Tear us down, throw you out._

_Screaming down the halls,_

_spinning all around and now_

_we **fall**.**  
**_

Light gleams through the thick glass windows. The wooden house creaks when he walks across the floorboards. He pulls the plain brown curtains shut. The dark is better, with the light reality seems to set in. This life is a lie. It's said to be with riches and happiness, how mad that would be. Instead at every corner of the bare house shadows lurk, threatening to bring the memories back.

If he forgets to watch his every move they'll pounce, pushing in thoughts and visions.

"We'll live longer with two of us," a faint whisper calls to him. Shivers and chills crawl up his spine. She's dead, it can't be her. She placed fifth.

A snicker from the bedroom erupts, the voice cackles, growing louder and louder. Haymitch wanders to the room, faded by fatigue. A blond figure slumps on the bed, a taunting smirk seen through the dark. Her blue eyes flash,

"How does it feel? Forgetting the past, forgetting me and how you _left_!" She jeers.

"Me? Leave you? You left _me! _You said we should split up!" he recalls, shaking.

"If that's how you'd like to remember it- fine. I'll always know the truth about you Haymitch Abernathy and how you could have saved me, but instead I perished. You're the reason I'm _dead_!" Maysilee cries.

"That's not true,"

"Keep telling yourself that and you'll believe it, just like you believe your family wasn't _murdered _because of you." the blonde haired girl hurls herself at the boy in front of her. He dodges the attack, but doesn't run away.

"Don't you get it?" she continues, "this is _all _because of you! Rot in hell," and then Maysilee disappears into his memory. Haymitch is left torn between reality and his nightmares.

Haymitch springs on his bed and clings to his comforter, hot tears streaming down his boyish face. He puts his hands on his sandy hair, and throws himself under the covers, enraged with a mixture of shame, fury and self-pity. He closes his eyes and sees the candy-pink birds, beaks dripping red blood, and razor sharp. Haymitch opens his eyes again, afraid of what he'd see next. The once inviting darkness seems to close in on him, weakening his senses, putting off sirens in his head. Haymitch stumbles up to the window and yanks open the curtains as the daylight fills the bedroom.

When he turns around he looks at his mirror. His face is red and wet with tears, his eyes bloodshot like they usually are. Then they warp into crystal blue, piercing eyes.

"You can't hide from ghosts," her singsong voice seems to be whispered into his ears.

Haymitch doesn't reply. He freezes, it's just his imagination. Right? Ghosts don't exist! Why is he so afraid then?

"Don't act like I'm not here Haymitch. I'll always be here, watching your every move," she calls now further away.

"Go away Maysilee, please. I don't want to hurt you!" Haymitch cries.

"Hurt me? Since when has that been an issue for yourself?" she shrieks back, piercing the air with her high-pitched voice.

"I CAN'T STAND IT OKAY?! Knowing your dead kills me," he adds softer.

"Really? How about this?" the young girl reaches for the dagger Haymitch sleeps with and raises it.

"D-don't…. please you don't understand…" he whispers, pleading. He's ignored when she takes the knife and plunges it into her own throat. For a second the blade falters, shifting into a bright pink beak.

Haymitch shuts his eyes, horrified as the blonde girl sputters, "I loved you," and dissolves.

The beak changes back to the knife before it too is gone. When he opens his eyes his bedroom is how it was this morning, untouched by Maysilee. All except for the dagger, which is still lying on the wood floor with a small pool of blood.

_I dance around this empty house_

_Tear us down, throw you out._

_Screaming down the halls,_

_spinning all around and now_

_we **fall**_**_._**

…

_**For Ella**_**: Hi! I hope you like this fic! I got really excited about it because I saw we had a lot of things in common- not sappy; music related etc. So this is what I did with that… I hope you enjoy reading:) This fic was inspired by Funhouse by P!nk. I don't own these lyrics…**

**I'm sorry this was so short! I hope you liked it Ella and didn't mind me adding Maysilee to the story!:) Stay tuned because this might end up being multi-chapter since it's small.**


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